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Visitors to Seville will be impressed by the new iconic structure that hangs over the city, a colossal honeycomb canopy that marks the redevelopment of the Plaza de la Encarnación into a contemporary urban centre.

The Metropol Parasol - a 30 metre-high timbre, concrete and steel structure that fills an 18,000 square metre plot - was designed by Berlin-based architects J. Mayer H. and was completed earlier this week.

The six circular columns were inspired by the vaults of Seville's Cathedral and support the raised formation, which snakes and undulates, creating interesting pockets of space both beneath and above the structure. On the underside of the Parasol is a museum that houses the archaeological ruins from the remains of the Imperial Rome, Late Antique and Islamic city centre. Tertiary spaces in the canopy house restaurants, bars and a farmers' market, whilst visitors can also access the elevated terrace on the roofscape for stunning views of the sun-drenched southern Spanish city.

Combing Seville's ancient history with its rapidly growing urban face, the Metropol Parasol is the new crown on the city, creating a social and cultural hub that transforms the historic into the contemporary iconic.

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